Indigenous Connections: A Partnership Between the Coeur d’Alene Tribe and Birds of Prey Northwest [Video]

In this broadcast we’ll hear from biologist and raptor rehabilitator, Janie Veltkamp, the founding director of Birds of Prey Northwest, about her partnership with the Coeur d’Alene Tribe leading to the opening of the Tribe’s first aviary. We will also hear from a special guest with the Tribe’s wildlife management program on the cultural connection the Tribe has to eagles and what it takes to care for birds that cannot be released back into the wild.

Birds of Prey Northwest and the Coeur d’Alene Natural Resources Department worked together for two years, planning, preparing, and obtaining the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s (Service) permits that are required to house eagles.

To help answer your questions regarding Native American Aviaries, please send us your questions in advance using this form:
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About Our Presenter, Janie Veltkamp:
Janie Veltkamp received training at the prestigious University of Minnesota Raptor Center where she learned how to expertly care for and treat medically injured birds of prey. She received her master’s degree in biology from Purdue University, where her thesis investigated wintering bald eagle habitat in Indiana. Janie began reintroducing peregrine falcons in the Midwest and more recently ospreys and peregrines in South Dakota.

Since then, she has treated thousands of injured birds of prey and lectures extensively about their ecology, traveling with specially trained Eagles, Hawks, Owls and Falcons. She works closely with the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and is permitted for her work through the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Janie is also a Master Falconer and has a bachelor’s degree in nursing.

Janie is also the co-author of two award-winning children’s books: Beauty and the Beak: How Science, Technology, and a -3D-Printed Beak Rescued a Bald Eagle; and Swoop
and Soar: How Science Rescued Two Osprey Orphans and Found Them a New Family in the Wild.

https://www.fws.gov

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the oldest federal conservation agency, tracing its lineage back to 1871, and the only agency in the federal government whose primary responsibility is management of fish and wildlife for the American public. The Service helps ensure a healthy environment for people by providing opportunities for Americans to enjoy the outdoors and our shared natural heritage.

We manage the National Wildlife Refuge System with more than 560 National Wildlife Refuges as well as small wetlands and other special management areas encompassing more than 150 million acres. Under the Fisheries program we also operate over 70 National Fish Hatcheries and 65 fishery resource offices. The Ecological Services program has 86 field stations across all 50 states.

The vast majority of fish and wildlife habitat is on non-federal lands. Voluntary habitat protection and restoration programs like the Partners for Fish and Wildlife Program and the Coastal Program and other partnership programs are the primary ways we deliver habitat conservation on public and private lands.

The Service employs approximately 9,000 people at facilities across the U.S. The Service is a decentralized organization with a headquarters office in Washington, D.C., with regional and field offices across the country. Our organizational chart shows structure and also provides information on senior management.